Early Hitler letter calling for eradication of Jews displayed in NYC

(SPOT.ph) Dated Sept. 16, 1919, a yellowing four-page letter containing what is believed to be the former German Chancellor and Nazi hunter Adolf Hitler’s first written comments calling for the eradication of Jews was unveiled in New York City, reports the AP. According to the report, the letter, penned by then 30-year-old Hitler, shows how early he had formed his anti-Semitic views.

The New York Times reports that US soldier William F. Ziegler allegedly found the letter in a Nazi archive near Nuremberg, Germany, at the end of World War II. It was sold to an unidentified dealer who resold it to California-based dealer Profiles in History. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, then purchased it for $150,000. The letter was displayed at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s New York City office.

In the letter, Hitler wrote in German: "The danger posed by Jewry for our people today finds expression in the undeniable aversion of wide sections of our people... The cause of this aversion... arises mostly from personal contact and from the personal impression that the individual Jew leaves-almost always an unfavorable one."

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He also wrote that the government could stop the "Jewish threat" but the "final aim, however, must be the uncompromising removal of the Jews altogether." Hitler signed his letter "Mit vorzueglicher Hochachtung (with deepest esteem)."

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and director of Simon Wiesenthal, described the document as "priceless," adding, "This is a seminal document that belongs to future generations."